The Quill
ST. EUSTATIUS--Since the most recent outbreak of COVID-19 in St. Eustatius, which first occurred on December 28 last year, 358 persons have been infected. The increasing numbers have led to new measures for entry, which went into effect on February 1.
Currently all countries and islands are categorised as high risk by the public entity St. Eustatius. All persons are allowed to enter the island based on the normal immigration rules, whether via airplane or boat.
An electronic health authorisation system (EHAS) entry form must be submitted at least 24 hours prior to arrival and a valid polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test that was conducted within 48 hours before travelling. No antigen test will be accepted on entry. Children younger than 10 years old will be exempted from the PCR test.
Residents of Statia travelling to and from St. Maarten on the same day are not subjected to any pre-entry test.
Vaccinated individuals will be subject to five days of monitoring and an end-of-quarantine test on the fifth day. A mandatory wristband will be put on, on arrival, which will be removed after a negative antigen test is taken at the end of the monitoring period on the fifth day.
Unvaccinated individuals will be subjected to seven days mandatory quarantine and an exit test will take place on the seventh day. These persons will also have to wear a mandatory wristband, which will be removed after a negative antigen test is taken at the end of quarantine on the seventh day.
Arriving children age five years or younger with vaccinated parents do not have to go into quarantine. Children older than five years and younger than 12 years, of vaccinated parents, have to go into quarantine for a period of five days with an antigen exit test on the fifth day. All other unvaccinated children need to go into quarantine for seven days with a parent joining them. They will be subjected to an antigen exit test on the fifth day.
Statia currently has 79 active cases of COVID-19, including eight new active cases, which were discovered via testing on Wednesday, February 2, during which 57 persons were tested.
Seven persons have recovered and tested negative for the virus since Tuesday. Currently, three persons from Statia are hospitalised at St. Maarten Medical Center.
The Public Health Department stated that vaccinations will not take place until further notice. A new batch of vaccines is currently on the way from the Netherlands. The public entity will announce when vaccinating will resume.
